1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to spill containment methods and more particularly to portable apparatus for catching and containing spills of toxic or environmentally hazardous materials from industrial vehicles and related equipment.
2. Background of the Invention and Description of the Prior Art
In a number of industrial processes, machine equipment that includes apparatus that transports, dispenses, or utilizes materials—liquid or dry aggregate—that may be toxic to living things or otherwise harmful to the environment requires some form of protective or containment device or method to avoid contamination thereof when the vehicle or other machine is not in motion. In one example, machinery used for drilling oil and gas wells, especially those used in a process called hydraulic fracturing (often: “fracing”) presents a challenge to avoid spills on the ground in such installations. In another example, loading or unloading chemicals on/from a vehicle, particularly in a remote or environmentally sensitive area, presents a need for a spill containment device. Even though well-thought-out and carefully implemented procedures for handling such materials may be in place and conscientiously used, accidents can and do occur that may result in harm to the surroundings where such equipment is located.
Constructing paved driveways or pads is one solution that enables relatively easy clean up of a spill. However, a paved surface is a permanent fixture that entails substantial expense to provide and thus is not suitable for machinery or installations where such equipment is used that is moved from place to place. Such is the case with oil and gas drilling machinery. Conventional forms of spill-containment devices may be constructed of light-weight fabric materials to provide devices that are portable and reusable. However, such materials, to provide for convenient assembly and disassembly are necessarily flexible and some way to provide rigid side walls or fixed support for the non-rigid sidewalls is required. Various arrangements and configurations of mechanical braces, collapsible or otherwise, or rigid or inflatable side members, have been proposed to support the side walls of the containment device. These have the disadvantage of requiring one or more of relatively cumbersome installation, assembly, adjustment, and disassembly procedures in use, require tools during use, or require a source of compressed air, for example, to inflate supporting structural elements of the containment unit.
What is needed is a containment method and/or apparatus having a minimum of components that can be easily installed, dismantled, and transported from place to place, even to remote areas, and that may be reused in a variety of situations, yet provides a reliable barrier to spills upon the surface of the ground.